Rams Road Favorites for TNF Matchup

It’s a battle by the Bay as two rookie head coaches take center stage in Thursday night’s featured NFL matchup. Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, 31, is the youngest head coach in the NFL, while 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, 37, is pretty green himself.

Before he joined the Rams, McVay was the offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins, a role he was promoted to after Shanahan left to take the offensive coordinator gig with the Atlanta Falcons.

The road team Rams are 3-point betting favorites with the 49ers at +130 on the moneyline and the OVER/UNDER in line with Thursday night scoring trends at 39.5 points. Eight of the Thursday Night Football games last season ended with 36 or fewer total points scored. Keeping with tradition, the Bengals and Texans combined for 22 points last week.

Through the first two games, Shanahan’s 49ers offense has been, well, offensive. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has thrown only two passes of 20+ yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions and the second-worst QB rating in the league (60.7) just ahead of Browns rookie DeShone Kizer.

San Francisco’s glass-half-full analysis would be to highlight the play of a healthy-for-the-moment Carlos Hyde. The running back is averaging 7.0 yards per carry on 24 attempts. Hyde’s early-season success finding holes in the defense is something to digest as the Rams just allowed the Washington Redskins backfield to rack up 229 yards (5.9 yards per carry) last weekend.

Niners Defense Suffering Through Injuries

On defense, the Niners only have two healthy safeties as Eric Reid is out (PCL sprain) and although Jimmie Ward (hamstring) and Jaquiski Tartt (neck) are expected to play, they’ll be far from 100%.

In the past, the Niners’ short-staffed secondary wouldn’t be a big deal against the Rams, but the script has flipped somewhat in 2017. With new addition Sammy Watkins and rookies Cooper Kupp and Gerald Everett, this isn’t the same old Rams pass offense. Second-year quarterback Jared Goff lit up the Colts’ sub-par secondary for 306 passing yards on 21-29 passing (72%) and a touchdown in Week 1.

The Rams are 4-6 straight up and 4-6 against the spread in their last 10 road contests. The 49ers are 2-8 straight up and 3-7 against the spread (1-7 ATS last eight) in their last 10 home games. However, San Francisco is 7-2-1 and 6-4 against the spread – including a 28-0 win – in their last 10 games against the Rams.